Clin Rheumatol DOI 10.1007/s10067-014-2684-1

BRIEF REPORT

Psoriatic arthritis: Mary Stults Sherman, a forgotten figure in its history Luis R. Espinoza & Philip Helliwell

Received: 30 April 2014 / Revised: 15 May 2014 / Accepted: 16 May 2014 # Clinical Rheumatology 2014

Abstract Mary Sherman was an American orthopedic surgeon who in 1952 published one of the earliest descriptions of psoriatic arthritis in the English literature. In a time when the general consensus by American rheumatologists was that there was no sufficient evidence to consider psoriatic arthritis as a distinct entity, Mary Sherman argued otherwise. Her work provided clinical, pathological, and therapeutic evidence in support of its distinctiveness as a unique disorder separate from rheumatoid arthritis. Keywords Arthritis . Inflammation . Psoriasis . Psoriatic arthritis Mary Sherman was an American orthopedic surgeon who published a seminal paper on psoriatic arthritis in 1952 and who essentially has remained overlooked with only episodic citation when the history of this important clinical disorder is discussed [1, 2]. Mary Sherman was born in 1913 in Evanston, Illinois, received a B.A. at Northwestern University in 1934, and an M.A. at the University of Chicago in 1935. Dr. Sherman then spent a year on a postgraduate fellowship at the University of Illinois, switched her interest toward medicine, and received a medical degree at the University of Chicago Medical School in 1943. Following an internship in pediatrics, she became an orthopedic surgeon and in 1947 joined the University of Chicago Clinics as instructor (1945–1947) and assistant professor (1947–1952). In 1952, Dr. Sherman joined the staff of

L. R. Espinoza (*) LSU Health Sciences Center, New Orleans, VA, USA e-mail: [email protected] P. Helliwell University of Leeds, Leeds, UK

the Ochsner Foundation and Hospital as director of the bone pathology laboratory where she taught bone pathology and basic sciences as they relate to orthopedic surgery for the resident staff. In addition, she was an associate professor of orthopedic surgery at Tulane Medical School and a senior visiting surgeon in orthopedics at Charity Hospital in New Orleans [3]. Dr. Sherman was a member of many academic organizations including the American Orthopedic Association, American Academic of Orthopedic Surgeons, and Orthopedic Research Society. In addition, she was very active on committees and in a number of organizations and for several years served as a chairperson of the Pathology Committee of the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgery [3]. During her tenure as assistant professor at the University of Chicago, Dr. Sherman developed an interest in the pathology of several inflammatory and metabolic disorders on joints and bones, and in 1952 published the first comprehensive report in the English literature on psoriatic arthritis [1]. From her original observations on psoriatic arthritis, she was able to conclude that there is a type of arthritis which is peculiar to persons who have psoriasis and which has a predilection for the distal joints of the hands and feet. In addition, she recognized the presence of arthritis mutilans and spondylitic involvement in some of her patients [1]. She went further to state that the clinical and radiographic findings are characteristic and quite different from that of rheumatoid arthritis. These observations were quite unique for that era, which was dominated by the concept that there was no sufficient evidence to consider psoriatic arthritis as distinct from rheumatoid arthritis [4]. A leading proponent of this concept was Walter Bauer, the Jackson Professor of Clinical Medicine at Harvard Medical School, chief of the medical service at the Massachusetts General Hospital, and past president of the American Rheumatology Association. Although, Bauer et al. and others

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a few years later accepted the presence of atypical inflammatory manifestations, especially the presence of distal interphalangeal joint involvement, as suggestive of psoriatic arthritis [5]. In addition, Dr. Sherman described in great detail the synovial membrane pathological characteristics and of interest also commented on her experience of the use of ACTH and cortisone on both skin and joints, observing that improvement is observed following the use of these compounds, especially arthritis, but that the improvement is transient [1]. It should be noted that Sherman’s observations on psoriatic arthritis preceded by several years those of Verna Wright, who, quite appropriately, is recognized as the father of the spondyloarthritidis including psoriatic arthritis [6]. Wright, in fact, exhaustively described and classified the diseases included in this new field of interest. Wright’s seminal contribution on psoriatic arthritis published in 1956 includes several comments on Sherman’s paper, such as oligoarticular involvement being more common than polyarticular involvement at disease onset, increased frequency of spondylitic involvement, and clinical similarities with gouty arthritis [6]. But Wright neither included Sherman among the proponents of psoriatic arthritis being a distinct entity and separate from rheumatoid arthritis nor made any comments on the utilization of ACTH and steroids in the management as commented by Sherman [6]. Verna Wright is not alone in not fully describing the contribution of Mary Sherman to our modern understanding of psoriatic arthritis, and similar omission of Sherman’s contribution can be found in several recent historical accounts on psoriatic arthritis in the medical literature [7–9]. One only has to wonder what else Sherman may have been able to contribute to the literature on psoriatic arthritis and other inflammatory and bone disorders, if her life had not been cut short. Mary Sherman’s untimely death at the age of 51 and at the height of a highly productive academic career came as a shock to the orthopedic community worldwide. She was brutally murdered in her apartment on July 21, 1964, and the cause of death, stab wound to her heart, was ruled a homicide. However, a great deal of speculation about the motives behind her death has recently surfaced with the publication of a book

about her death published by Edward T. Harlam, entitled Mary’s Monkeys [10]. Harlam made several allegations raising a conspiracy behind Dr. Sherman’s murder. Among them, he claimed that Sherman personally knew about Lee Harvey Oswald’s activities in New Orleans and that she was murdered because she knew too much about the assassination of President John F. Kennedy [10]. These allegations, however, have not been well substantiated. Dr. Sherman made a significant contribution to better our understanding of psoriatic arthritis, and this has not been fully recognized in our literature. Disclosures None

References 1. Sherman MS (1952) Psoriatic arthritis: observations on the clinical, roentgenographic, and pathological changes. J Bone Joint Surg Am 34:831–852 2. Oriente P, Biondi-Oriente C, Scarpa R (1994) Clinical manifestations in psoriatic arthritis. Bailliere’s Clin Rheumatol. Eds V. Wright and P. Helliwell. 8:277–294 3. Editorial: Mary Stults Sherman, 1913–1964 (1964) J Bone Joint Surg Am 46A:1824–26 4. Bauer W (1939) The diagnosis of various arthritides. N Eng J Med 221:524–533 5. Bauer W, Bennett GA, Zeller JW (1941) The pathology of joint lesions in patients with psoriasis and arthritis. 56:349–352 6. Wright V (1956) Psoriasis and arthritis. Ann Rheum Dis 15:348–356 7. Ritchlin C, Helliwell P (2009) Psoriatic arthritis: from Leeds to the limelight. The Rheumatologist August 2009 8. Iglesias-Gamarra A, Penaranda E, Hernando P et al (2010) History of psoriatic arthritis. First part: from Alibert to V Wright. Rev Colomb Reumatol 17:22–34 9. Benedeck TG (2013) Psoriasis and psoriatic arthropathy, historical aspects. Part I. J Clin Rheumatol 19:193–198 10. Haslam ET (2007) Dr. Mary’s monkey’s: how the unsolved murder of a doctor, a secret laboratory in New Orleans and cancer-causing monkey viruses are linked to Lee Harvey Oswald, the JFK assassination and emerging global epidemics. Publisher: Trine Day. April 1, 2007

Psoriatic arthritis: Mary Stults Sherman, a forgotten figure in its history.

Mary Sherman was an American orthopedic surgeon who in 1952 published one of the earliest descriptions of psoriatic arthritis in the English literatur...
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